Friends and Scars

The air was thick with anticipation when the two friends made their way through the orc camp. The moon was rising and the sky was filled with stars. They hadn't been spotted and Calanon was so excited she couldn't hold in her laughter. Beremthor turned around and put his hand over her mouth and whispered to her. - "You have to be quiet. If we wake the camp before we find the banner, we are in big trouble." - "I'm sorry, but this is so exciting!", she whispered back through Beremthor's hand. It almost made his laugh, but he held it in and smiled at her. Beremthor and Calanon made it further into the camp and after a few minutes of they spotted the banner flickering before the main tent. Calanon spotted it and nudged at Beremthor. - "Berem, look!", she whispered and pointed at the white hand banner. It was stained with blood, tattered and worn from the countless battles it had led. An angry booming voice suddenly chased two orcs out of the main tent. The orcs shouted something back then left in a hurry in the opposite directory from where the two friends where hiding. - "Cala, this is it. You sneak up and rip that banner down while I watch your back and make sure no one sees you." Calanon nodded with a smile on her lips. She had always been the flexible one of the two and she loved the thrill she got from "seeing without being seen" as she put it. She sneaked up beside a pile of grain sacks right next to the banner but froze when she saw the gigantic two-handed blade coming out of the main tent. The orc holding it was no ordinary orc. He was much taller and broader, and the white hand was painted on his head. He stepped out and stopped no more than five steps from where Calanon was hiding. She could hear him breathe heavily as he observed his surroundings. Beremthor heart was pounding so loud in his ears he thought he was going to pass out. He had known Calanon more or less since birth and the thought of her being so close to this huge orc made him nervous to say the least. - "I have to do something", he thought and looked over at Calanon but her eyes were set on the orc and she didn't move a muscle. All he could think of was to create a diversion. It would wake the whole camp but he couldn't wait and see if the orc would sniff Calanon out, so he closed his eyes and shot of a small fireball with his staff into a nearby tent. It was in the opposite directory from where Calanon was hiding so it should draw the orcs attention away from her. The tent burst into flames within seconds and the huge orc started to yell orders and waking up nearby sleeping orcs. Calanon took the opportunity to grab the banner when the orc chief turned his back to her and then she ran towards Beremthor and then continued running out of the camp with him. Finally they stopped, a good distance from the orc camp. Calanon laughed and pulled out the banner to show Beremthor. - "Haha! I got it! That was amazing and what a diversion, Berem! Hah!" - "Indeed! Did you see the size of that orc? He was a giant compared to the normal ones around here!" - "I know! I bet Master Evanor will want to hear about that and I bet he will be quite satisfied with the bann...". Suddenly Calanon screamed out in pain and fell into Beremthors arms, the thick arrow hit her right shoulder from behind. Two patrolling orcs had spotted them and managed to get close enough to fire two arrows. The second one whizzed pasted Beremthors head as he caught Calanon. He dropped to his knees and put Calanon on her stomach, careful not to move the arrow. - "Hold on, Cala! I'll get you out of here, I promise! Just stay with me while I try to deal with the orcs, okay?" - "Okay, okay...", she replied slowly. Her face was pale and her eyelids were half closed already. Beremthor got up and fired of a fireball from his staff at one of the orcs and he dropped to the ground, dead. The second orc fired another arrow. Beremthor managed to deflect it with his staff, but it was narrow and the arrow glanced off the staff and instead of steering it downwards as he planned it went straight up and grazed his cheek. He fell on his back and felt the wound burn on his face. Then he heard the familiar roar from his trusty bear. The world spun around Beremthor and he didn't know how long he had been gone when Brambor poked at him with his big head. He put his arm around his bear friend and forced himself to stand. Blood had ran into his eye and he couldn't see with it, he feared the arrow had made him blind when he suddenly remembered; - "CALA!", he screamed and looked around. She was lying where he'd left her. He ran over and he could hear her breathing, she was still alive. He picked her up and carried her back to Bree with Brambors help. The guards met them at the gates and helped them back to the house where Master Evanor lived. - "Bring her here and lie down on the bed, Berem. She has lost a lot of blood but I think she'll make it. She is strong and stubborn, much like her mother. Clean your wound with this while I take care of her." He handed Beremthor a bowl of water and some clean towels. - "Thank you, Master", he replied. Beremthor cleaned the wound as best he could and went to lie down on the bed. He touched his wound before falling asleep. It burned. The scar would remind him to be ever vigilant. His dreams were with Calanon that night.